I Take You
by Chlollie
Summary: Sequel To: Being Different Isn't Easy. Chloe and Oliver get married. Co-Author: Kyalpn


AUTHOR: Kyalpn & Chlollie

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. The characters, belong to their rightful owners.

The chirping of birds and the flow of the Tiber River were the first things Chloe heard as she woke from sleep. She wasn't sure how it was possible in the middle of the busy Italian capitol, but somehow Ollie had managed to procure accommodations that made one feel as if the city was miles away.

And the room! Obviously the best money could buy. Chloe reposed on a king-sized bed, piled high with the fluffiest pillows, made with the silkiest sheets, and covered with the downiest comforter. Posh draperies, elegant wall hangings, the classiest of amenities opened through French doors onto a balcony large enough dine, dance and whatever else a couple so chose. All of it was enough to make any girl feel like a princess, but that wasn't the reason Chloe smiled, still with eyes closed as she listened to the soothing sounds of the outdoors.

No. Chloe smiled because today, she wouldn't be a princess anymore.

Today, she would become Queen.

Planning a wedding was supposed to be hard work. At least that's what she always heard. So many details and decisions and finalizations. But Chloe had found the process enchanting. Maybe because for the most part she had simply to dream it and with a few phone calls it was done. Their wedding planner, Miranda, was amazing, used to working with the elite of the US. And when Ollie said that money was no object their every wish had been her command.

Ollie only had one request: that they be married in Rome. Which worked out just fine for his wife to be since she wanted the same thing. Miranda's eyes lit up when they told her and she delved right in to find the perfect location, finally suggesting the Villa Borghese, and looking through her research Oliver and Chloe had to agree.

Located basically in the heart of the city, the Villa was actually a very large park that took one away from the business and the hubbub of the city and allowed the feeling of peace and quiet and tranquillity to surround them. It had beautiful gardens, tranquil lakes and ponds, several temples and many museums, lending that feeling of romance perfect for a wedding, as well as many practical options to allow for the variables of weather and whatever else could go wrong on a wedding day.

It also boasted the best catering and the most beautiful ballrooms around, making it not only easy but the only option to host the reception as well. In no time, Miranda had booked the King's Ballroom for them. It was the most beautiful and was covered completely with windows on the side that faced the pond that Chloe and Ollie would be married on.

The menu was truly fit for a king as well. While the wedding party was taking pictures after the ceremony, the rest of the guests would be starting the party with an open wine and champagne bar as well as snacking on a beautiful display of seasonal fruit, and choosing from several types of hors d'oeuvres, including Italian cold cuts with an assortment of cheeses and marinated vegetables, Italian ****tail meatballs, and Petite quiche. They would then dine on Lobster Bisque, Caesar salad, mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes before the main course; a choice of a grilled chicken and stuffed shrimp combination, Duck a l'orange or filet mignon. There would also be tableside cordial bars of coffee, tea, or Espresso and flaming Cherries Jubilee for dessert—in addition to the wedding cake.

The wedding cake would be the center of attention really. Handmade white gum paste roses with white petals covering a rolled butter cream frosting and finished off with pearl borders, the cake with five tiers of different flavors was a site to behold.

All of that along with personal wait staff for each table, dancing well into the night to the music of several live artists with family and friends flown over by chartered plane and her prince charming by her side…it was more than Chloe could ever dream of as a little girl. And Ollie had made it all come true.

A knock at the door interrupted her musings and several of the hotel staff walked in followed by Lois and Lana. The staff was wheeling several carts of food and a cappuccino machine out onto the balcony. Another smiled sweetly and went into the bathroom to draw her bath, stopping only to ask which of several scents she wished to bathe with.

"Good morning." Chloe said as she sat up in bed. "Um…that's not really necessary. I can do it. You don't have to wait on me…" She laughed when she was ignored by the staff and turned to her two best friends. "Wow. I know Ollie wants to take care of me, but I didn't expect all this. I think it will be hard to get used to being able to have anything I want if I only ask."

Lois made a light sound as if to say she thought her cousin was crazy as she surveyed the activity. "Honey, I wouldn't have any problem, let me tell you. Ma'am, did you say something about coffee?" Lois trotted out to the balcony, leaving Lana to hand Chloe a medium sized box. Which she did as she climbed onto the bed with a smile.

"Yes. The things this kind of money can buy is a little daunting at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly." she said. "Here. Your wedding present from Ollie."

Chloe took the present with a smile, but then gave Lana an assessing look. "Funny. I got the sense you never got used to the things Lex's money could buy."

Lana was Lang again, having divorced Lex during the trial for his part in Chloe's abduction. She was still a wealthy woman, the one time divorce settlement being quite large, but was getting back to the Lana Chloe had grown up with.

Lana looked thoughtful as she watched Chloe open the beautifully wrapped box. "Lex's money is different. It comes with a price. We had the best money could buy because we could and we needed to keep up appearances. His money was used to manipulate, dominate, and control. It was cold. It was never used with a noble cause in mind, never brought us anything of true enjoyment or happiness. Things I suspect you'll…"

"Ahhh!" Chloe exclaimed as she opened the box and it exploded with a flurry of white, gold, and silver confetti.

"…You'll never have to worry about with Ollie." Lana finished with a laugh.

* * *

><p>Oliver stood under the arch leading to the shores of the pond next to the minister and tried to calm down. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that Chloe Sullivan had agreed to become his wife. And it was even harder to believe that the day was here finally. He wanted to enjoy the day, savor each moment, but that was hard as well. As much as he wanted to remember every detail of this day, a part of him wanted it to hurry up and be over before something went wrong. Kind of like if Chloe didn't become Mrs. Queen soon, he would wake up and find it was all a cruel, beautiful dream in which she never said 'I do'.<p>

He looked around and was surprised to find a crowd of onlookers gathering. Far enough away not to be intrusive, but they were obviously interested in seeing what was happening. He hadn't thought of that, but it made sense in a public park. He didn't mind though. If he could, he would invite the whole world to his wedding. He would shout from the rooftops that "Yes! Chloe Sullivan is marrying me!" As long as they weren't making a disturbance, they could watch the happiest day of his life.

The timbre of the music from the string quartet changed, and they began to play Pachelbel's 'Canon in C', signaling the start of the wedding processional, and Oliver snapped back to attention.

Clark smiled at Oliver as he led the way down the aisle, followed by Bart then Lana. These were Ollie and Chloe's best friends and deciding not to fuss with tradition, they had chosen not to have the traditional line of groomsman paired with bridesmaids, but just all of their friends standing as attendants. Behind Lana were Lois, then Victor and AC.

The last notes of the canon faded and behind the quartet, a pair of trumpeters stood, and Oliver took a deep breath. Chloe was on her way.

* * *

><p>Chloe took a deep breath and watched as her friends proceeded down the aisle ahead of her. She also was surprised at the number of passersby that were stopping to watch, but smiled when she realized they were appreciating what they saw. She thought the scene was perfect. Perfect platform in front of an archway that led to the shores of a picturesque pond, the gardens a burst of color, the lawns green and lush. The wedding party looked pretty good too. The guys dressed in black Armani with silver ties and vests. The ladies in Vera Wang, satin full-length strapless princess-style gowns with rouched bodices and carried bouquets of tulips, calla lilies, orchids, roses and hydrangeas. The dresses were a deep plum color and the flowers were every conceivable color of purple to compliment. Chloe knew that it wasn't a typical summer color, but she had fallen in love with it the minute she saw it and hadn't needed to look at anything else.<p>

The same could be said of her own dress. Also made by Vera Wang, it was a strapless scoop-neck mermaid dress with a draped bustline, raffia sash at the waist and eyelet skirt. No train, but Chloe felt that was better for an outdoor wedding anyway. She also didn't wear a veil, but chose to use crystal hairpins to adorn her hair, and carried a large bouquet of white roses; hand tied with plum ribbon.

"You…you look beautiful, darling."

Gabe's voice was choked up and Chloe felt her own eyes start to fill with tears.

"Don't do that. I can't have my make up smeared on my pictures." she teased.

"I know, I know." Gabe smiled and sniffed a little. "But you can't blame your old man for getting a little teary. My little girl is all grown up. Getting married." He paused and he again tried to get control of his voice. "Oliver's a good man. I know he'll love and take good care of you. But it's still hard to give you away. I only wish your mother was here to see it."

Chloe blew out lightly and rapidly blinked her eyes to keep the tears from falling. A very slight breeze where there hadn't been one a moment before flitted over her and dried her tears. She smiled and answered her father with conviction.

"I think she is. Mom can definitely see this."

At that moment they heard the sound of trumpets with the opening bars of the 'Trumpets Voluntary.' It was time.

"Are you ready?" Gabe asked. Chloe nodded and they started down the aisle.

If she had had any doubts about not seeing Ollie before the wedding, they all flew out of her head when she saw his reaction the moment he saw her. His mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide just before they slid closed and he smiled. Chloe smiled back, everyone that was watching fading from view, as she only had eyes for her handsome husband. Funny. He wasn't her husband yet, but she already thought of him in that way. She had from the moment he put the diamond ring on her finger one year ago. In no time at all, she was standing in front of him. Lana, Bart, and Clark on her left, Lois, Victor and AC to Oliver's right. Her father was answering the minister, saying that he gave this woman to be married, and then she was taking Ollie's hand and stepping to face the minister. Ollie looked down at her right wrist and winked appreciatively at the diamond bracelet he had given her as a wedding gift. Then he turned his wrist slightly so she could admire the engraved cufflinks—engraved with the first initials of both of their names—given as her gift to him.

"I haven't know Oliver and Chloe very long," the minister began. "But I was touched by their story, as I'm sure all of you as friends and family are. It was here in Rome that their journey to each other began, and it was here that they felt would be the most appropriate culmination of that chapter as well as the beginning of the first chapter in the rest of their lives. They have chosen to write their own vows to each other, vows that I have read and found to be in keeping with the touching nature that brought them together." He spoke to the couple now. "Please join right hands and Oliver, we'll start with you."

Oliver took Chloe's hand in his and rubbed his thumb across the top of it gently. Then spoke to the crowd first even though he never took his eyes from hers.

"When Chloe suggested that we write our own vows, I have to be honest. I wasn't thrilled."

A chuckle rippled through their guests and Chloe smiled as well.

"I mean, I'm not a man of words really. I'm not a wordsmith like she is. I'm more of a man of action. And if someone said to me 'Oliver, show us how much you love Chloe' I could do that. I could come up with any number of ways to show how much I love her, and I plan to spend the rest of my life doing just that. Showing her how much I love her."

Tears filled Chloe's eyes even as she smiled.

"But unfortunately, that doesn't help me now, in front of all of you. Chloe knew that I was having a hard time with this, and she encouraged me. She said that I didn't have to find something profound, leave anyone with lasting words of wisdom. I just needed to speak from my heart. So, from my heart, Chloe Sullivan? I love you. You have changed my life."

"We of course met through Clark, and his and my first conversation was pretty heavy. It was about the world and good versus evil and black and white versus shades of gray. Now Clark, being the good boy scout that he is," Oliver paused with a wink at Clark; Clark scowled good-naturedly as more laughter could be heard.

"Said that everything was black and white. There was only right or wrong and all of your actions fit in either of those two categories. But I, being the very enlightened one of the two of us, didn't agree. I said that the world wasn't always black and white; the good wasn't always good and the evil always evil. I said to him that there was a lot of gray. What I didn't realize was that I could see that so clearly because my world was only gray. I was quite content to build my empire; to do some good, and be the Oliver Queen that everyone knew me to be. Cool, collected, in control. Strong, with need of nothing else than what I built and could hold with my two hands."

"Then you came into my life, and you brought the opposite of everything I thought I was. I think it literally took me by surprise because at the moment I fell in love with you, I was none of the things I thought I was. And that was OK with you. I know you didn't know it, but I immediately felt at ease and realized that when I was strong, you make me stronger, but you allow me to be weak. When I am in control, you stand back and put all your trust in me, but when I'm not in control, you put your faith in me and cheer me on. Where I once saw gray you showed me a blaze of color and a path of hope and possibilities I never considered before. For once in my life I have something bigger than me or some abstract idea of what I should be doing with my life to believe in. And you, my love, brought it to me. It is something that I treasure above all else.

"I take you today to be my wife for the rest of my life. To love and to cherish until the day I die, and pray to be the husband you need me to be."

"Well. For a man that is not a wordsmith you certainly did very well." the minister said, and everyone laughed. "Now Chloe, your vows to Oliver."

Chloe blinked away her tears and gripped Ollie's hand a little tighter. "I guess it proves how in sync we really are, because I too was struck by how much you brought to my life. How much I didn't know I was missing until you. I'm sure most everyone here would expect that I found my inspiration in some literary classic, perhaps Shakespeare or a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and I did think of several pieces that I love and would be most appropriate for our wedding day. But actually, my inspiration came from music and movies. It came in the song between Christian and Satine from Moulin Rouge. Now, I realize that aside from my being a poor writer, not much of our story translates to that movie, but their song says how I feel about you better than I ever could."

Chloe let go of Oliver's hand and reached for the piece of paper Lois handed her, then began to read with her heart in her eyes:

"Never knew I could feel like this.  
>Like I've never seen the sky before.<br>Want to vanish inside your kiss.  
>Everyday I love you more and more.<br>Listen to my heart, can you hear? It sings.  
>Telling me to give you everything.<br>Seasons may change, winter to spring,  
>But I love you until the end of time.<br>Come what may, come what may.  
>I will love you until my dying day."<p>

Oliver was smiling at her, no tears but obviously touched.

"Christian said that 'The greatest thing you will ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return.' I have to agree. The greatest lesson I've ever learned in my life is to love you and to let you love me in return. Your love is the greatest gift of my life. Ollie, I love you. And I take you today to be my husband. To love and to cherish until the day I die, and I pray to be the wife you need me to be."

"The rings, please." Chloe and Oliver handed the minister the rings they held for each other, and barely could listen as he made some comments about the rings being unbroken circles and symbolizing the eternal unbroken bond of husband and wife. The rings were the last things before they heard the words they couldn't wait to hear.

Then suddenly it was upon them. The opening part of Hans Zimmer's 'Tennessee' was being heard faintly on the strings of the quartet.

"By the power vested in me…Oliver and Chloe, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Oliver, you may kiss your bride."

Smiling wider than they ever had before, Chloe and Oliver nuzzled noses for just a second before he held her face in his hands and they kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Oliver drew her into his arms, and Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and all their friends and families were standing as they applauded as the first crescendo in the song was played.

The applause wasn't only from their friends and family, but the passersby as well.

And why not?

Mr. Oliver and Mrs. Chloe Queen were obviously something pretty special.

* * *

><p>"Ahhhha!"<p>

Mr. and Mrs. Queen ran from through their crowd of guests very late in the night as 'green' confetti was thrown and soap bubbles were blown at them. The guests were loud as they wished them well, and the couple climbed into the waiting limo. To where, Chloe didn't know. Oliver was intent on surprising her yet again but he assured her that she would love it.  
>Of that she had no doubt.<p>

"So. Mrs. Queen. Are you ready?"

"I am, Mr. Queen." Chloe smiled at her husband and they kissed sweetly.

"Then we're off." Oliver said.

Chloe settled into the crook of his arm and closed her eyes for the first time in hours. She might not have any idea where they were going. But as long as she was with Oliver she knew it didn't matter.


End file.
